150 Riddles for Kids With Answers

I have a neck but no head. What am I?

Then ask: Can you find something in the kitchen with a neck?

Answer: A bottle.

Why it works: The narrow top part of a bottle is called its neck.

I get wetter the more I dry. What am I?

Then ask: Where does the water in the towel go later?

Answer: A towel.

Why it works: A towel dries you by soaking up the water, so the towel gets wet.

I have one eye, and I can't see a thing. What am I?

Then ask: Why do you think people called that hole an eye?

Answer: A needle.

Why it works: The hole in a needle, where the thread goes, is called its eye.

I have lots of teeth, and I never bite. What am I?

Then ask: What else has teeth that don't bite?

Answer: A comb.

Why it works: The thin points on a comb are called teeth.

You can catch me, but you can't throw me. What am I?

Then ask: What else can you catch that isn't a ball?

Answer: A cold.

Why it works: We say you catch a cold when you get sick, but a cold isn't something you hold.

I have a head and a tail and no body. What am I?

Then ask: Which side do you pick when you flip one, and why?

Answer: A coin.

Why it works: The two sides of a coin are called heads and tails.

I am yellow, I shine all day, and I hide at night. What am I?

Then ask: Where does the sun go at night, really?

Answer: The sun.

Why it works: The sun lights up the day, and at night it is shining on the other side of the Earth.

I go up when the rain comes down. What am I?

Then ask: What did people use before umbrellas, do you think?

Answer: An umbrella.

Why it works: You open an umbrella and hold it up over your head when it starts to rain.

I have pages and I tell stories, but I have no mouth. What am I?

Then ask: What does paper have to do with trees?

Answer: A book.

Why it works: A book has pages and tells its story with words instead of a voice.

I have a tongue, and I can't talk. You wear me on your foot. What am I?

Then ask: What other things have a tongue?

Answer: A shoe.

Why it works: The soft flap under a shoe's laces is called its tongue.

I am white, I fall in winter, and you can roll me into a man. What am I?

Then ask: Why does a snowman melt but a sandcastle doesn't?

Answer: Snow.

Why it works: Snow is frozen water that falls in winter, and you can roll it into a snowman.

You can hold me without touching me. What am I?

Then ask: How long can you hold yours? Want to try?

Answer: Your breath.

Why it works: Holding your breath means keeping air inside you, not holding something in your hands.

I am tall when I am young and short when I am old. What am I?

Then ask: What else gets smaller the more you use it?

Answer: A candle.

Why it works: A candle burns down and gets shorter the longer it is lit.

I have a thumb and four fingers, and I am not alive. What am I?

Then ask: Why do mittens keep hands warmer than gloves?

Answer: A glove.

Why it works: A glove has a place for each finger so it fits your hand.

I am round, I bounce, and you kick me or throw me. What am I?

Then ask: How many games can you name that use a ball?

Answer: A ball.

Why it works: A ball is round and bounces, and lots of games are played with one.

I go up and down, and I never move. What am I?

Then ask: What else helps you move but stays in one place?

Answer: Stairs.

Why it works: Stairs take you up and down, but they stay where they are.

The more you take away from me, the bigger I get. What am I?

Then ask: Can you think of anything else that grows when you take some away?

Answer: A hole.

Why it works: Digging takes dirt out, and every scoop makes the hole bigger.

I have a mouth but never eat, and I am full of letters. What am I?

Then ask: Who brings the letters, and who takes them out?

Answer: A mailbox.

Why it works: A mailbox has a slot like a mouth, and letters go in through it.

I can fill a room, and I take up no space. What am I?

Then ask: What else can fill a room without taking up space?

Answer: Light.

Why it works: Light fills a room when you switch it on, but it isn't a thing that takes up room.

I get fed every week and never get full, and on the right morning I roll to the curb. What am I?

Then ask: What gave it away, the feeding or the curb?

Answer: A trash can.

Why it works: Feeding it means throwing trash in, and on trash day the can gets rolled out to the curb.

I have four legs and a back, and I never walk anywhere. What am I?

Then ask: What else has legs and cannot walk?

Answer: A chair.

Why it works: A chair's legs and back are named after body parts, but they only hold it up.

I drink up the whole spill and stay the same size until you squeeze me. What am I?

Then ask: Where does the water go while the sponge holds it?

Answer: A sponge.

Why it works: A sponge is full of tiny holes that hold water until you squeeze it out.

My hands move all day and never pick anything up. What am I?

Then ask: Which clue would fool someone who thinks only of people?

Answer: A clock.

Why it works: The pointers on a clock are called hands, but they cannot grab anything.

You look through me to see the weather, and I keep the weather out. What am I?

Then ask: What can you learn by looking out that no forecast tells you?

Answer: A window.

Why it works: Glass lets you see the rain and snow while it keeps them outside.

I am cold inside so that other things do not spoil, and a small light comes on when you visit. What am I?

Then ask: Does the light stay on when the door shuts? How could you find out?

Answer: A refrigerator.

Why it works: A fridge keeps food cold so it stays fresh, and its light turns on when you open the door.

People step on me all day and thank me by wiping their feet. What am I?

Then ask: What else does its job by being stepped on?

Answer: A doormat.

Why it works: Wiping your feet on a doormat is how you use it, so the riddle calls that a thank-you.

I swallow your dirty shirts, spin them dizzy and give them back wet. What am I?

Then ask: What clue would you add to make this one harder?

Answer: A washing machine.

Why it works: It takes in dirty clothes, spins them around and gives them back clean and wet.

I hold your coat by the shoulders all summer and never wear it. What am I?

Then ask: Could the answer be a closet? Which clue decides it?

Answer: A hanger.

Why it works: A coat hangs on a hanger by its shoulders, but the hanger never puts it on.

I am a small sun you switch on with one finger. What am I?

Then ask: What can the sun do that a lamp cannot?

Answer: A lamp.

Why it works: A lamp gives light like a small sun, and you turn it on with a switch.

We are tied every morning and undone every night, and we always come as two. What are we?

Then ask: What else comes in pairs and is useless alone?

Answer: Shoelaces.

Why it works: You tie laces when you put your shoes on and untie them when you take them off, and there is one for each shoe.

The more you use me, the smaller I get, and I make bubbles in the bath. What am I?

Then ask: Where does the soap go as it gets smaller?

Answer: Soap.

Why it works: Soap wears away a little every time you wash, and it makes bubbles in water.

You sit on me, nap on me, and lose coins inside me. What am I?

Then ask: What else have you found in a couch?

Answer: A couch.

Why it works: Coins slip out of pockets and fall down between the couch cushions.

I wake you up without touching you, and you can make me hush for five more minutes. What am I?

Then ask: What would mornings be like without one?

Answer: An alarm clock.

Why it works: An alarm clock rings to wake you, and the snooze button quiets it for a few minutes.

I get hit on the head to do my job, and I hold things together. What am I?

Then ask: What part of the hammer does the hitting?

Answer: A nail.

Why it works: The flat top of a nail is called its head, and a hammer hits it into the wood.

I show you yourself, but backward. What am I?

Then ask: If you raise your right hand, which hand does your reflection raise?

Answer: A mirror.

Why it works: A mirror flips left and right, so words on your shirt look backward in it.

I have slots like mouths, and I turn bread brown and pop it back up. What am I?

Then ask: What should never go into a toaster, and why?

Answer: A toaster.

Why it works: Bread goes into the toaster's slots, gets toasted and pops back up.

I dress in black and white, and I walk as if my shoes were too big. What am I?

Then ask: Which other animals fit the first clue but not the second?

Answer: A penguin.

Why it works: Penguins are black and white and waddle, as if their feet were too big for them.

I sleep upside down and find my way with my ears. What am I?

Then ask: How can ears do the work of eyes?

Answer: A bat.

Why it works: Bats hang upside down to sleep and find their way by listening to the echoes of their own squeaks.

I build with mud and sticks, and my house can stop a river. What am I?

Then ask: What does the beaver get from stopping the river?

Answer: A beaver.

Why it works: Beavers build dams from sticks and mud, and a dam holds back a river.

I have eight arms and no bones, and I can squeeze through a gap the size of a coin. What am I?

Then ask: Which clue did you need, and which was extra?

Answer: An octopus.

Why it works: An octopus has eight arms and no bones, so it can squeeze through tiny gaps.

I knock on wood all day and never wait for an answer. What am I?

Then ask: What is it really knocking for?

Answer: A woodpecker.

Why it works: A woodpecker taps on trees to find bugs and make holes, not to visit anyone.

I am born in water with a tail, and I grow up to hop on land without one. What am I?

Then ask: What other animal looks completely different when it grows up?

Answer: A frog.

Why it works: A frog starts life as a tadpole with a tail, and the tail disappears as it grows legs.

I wear my skeleton on the outside and walk sideways on the beach. What am I?

Then ask: What is good and what is bad about a skeleton on the outside?

Answer: A crab.

Why it works: A crab's hard shell is its skeleton, and crabs walk sideways.

I can turn my head most of the way around, and I fly without a sound. What am I?

Then ask: What would flying silently be good for?

Answer: An owl.

Why it works: Owls can turn their heads very far, and soft-edged feathers make their flight silent.

I carry my baby in a pocket and never lose it when I jump. What am I?

Then ask: What would you keep in a pocket like that?

Answer: A kangaroo.

Why it works: A mother kangaroo carries her baby, called a joey, in a pouch on her belly.

I weave a net and never go near the water to fish. What am I?

Then ask: What does the spider catch, and how does it know something is caught?

Answer: A spider.

Why it works: A spider's web is a net for catching bugs, not fish.

My neck is so long that I eat from the treetops. What am I?

Then ask: What might be hard about having a neck like that?

Answer: A giraffe.

Why it works: A giraffe's long neck lets it reach leaves high up in trees.

I have stripes but I am not a zebra, and I am the biggest cat there is. What am I?

Then ask: Why do you think a tiger has stripes?

Answer: A tiger.

Why it works: Tigers have striped fur and are the largest wild cats.

I carry my house on my back and leave a shiny trail. What am I?

Then ask: What would it be like to carry your house everywhere?

Answer: A snail.

Why it works: A snail lives in its shell and leaves a trail of slime as it moves.

I go to sleep a crawler and wake up a flyer. What am I?

Then ask: What do you think happens inside the chrysalis?

Answer: A caterpillar that turns into a butterfly.

Why it works: A caterpillar wraps itself in a chrysalis and comes out as a butterfly.

I have a horn on my nose and thick gray skin. What am I?

Then ask: What do you think the horn is made of? Guess, then look it up together.

Answer: A rhinoceros.

Why it works: A rhino's horn grows on its nose, and it is made of the same stuff as your fingernails.

I am black and white like a penguin, and I eat bamboo all day. What am I?

Then ask: Which clue ruled out a zebra?

Answer: A panda.

Why it works: Giant pandas are black and white and eat mostly bamboo.

I sleep through the winter and wake up hungry in spring. What am I?

Then ask: How do you think a bear gets ready for winter?

Answer: A bear.

Why it works: Many bears hibernate in winter and live on the fat they stored up in the fall.

I carry humps on my back and can go for days without a drink. What am I?

Then ask: Do the humps hold water? What do you think?

Answer: A camel.

Why it works: A camel's humps store fat, not water, and its body is good at saving water.

I am the only bird that can fly backward. What am I?

Then ask: Why would flying backward help at a flower?

Answer: A hummingbird.

Why it works: Hummingbirds beat their wings so fast that they can hover and fly backward.

I have no legs, and I smell with my tongue. What am I?

Then ask: How is that like the way a dog sniffs?

Answer: A snake.

Why it works: Snakes flick their tongues to pick up smells from the air.

I wear a mask, and I like to dip my food in water before I eat it. What am I?

Then ask: Why do you think people say raccoons look like robbers?

Answer: A raccoon.

Why it works: A raccoon has dark fur around its eyes like a mask, and it often dunks its food in water.

I am yellow outside and white inside, and monkeys get all the credit for liking me. What am I?

Then ask: Which clue is a joke and not a real clue?

Answer: A banana.

Why it works: Bananas are yellow outside and white inside, and cartoon monkeys are always eating them.

I am small and hard until I get hot, and then I jump and turn white. What am I?

Then ask: What is happening inside the kernel just before it jumps?

Answer: Popcorn.

Why it works: A popcorn kernel has a drop of water inside, and heat turns it into steam that bursts the kernel open.

I am round with a hole in the middle, and the hole is the only part you cannot eat. What am I?

Then ask: Two answers fit. What clue would leave only one?

Answer: A donut, or a bagel.

Why it works: A donut and a bagel are both round with a hole, and you can't eat a hole.

Bees make me, I keep for years, and I am sweeter than their sting. What am I?

Then ask: What do the bees make it for?

Answer: Honey.

Why it works: Bees make honey, honey can keep for years, and it is sweet while a bee sting hurts.

I am green outside and red inside, and you spit out part of me at a picnic. What am I?

Then ask: Which clue would work for a different fruit too?

Answer: A watermelon.

Why it works: A watermelon is green outside and red inside, and people spit out the seeds.

Crack my shell and I run. Heat me and I stand still. What am I?

Then ask: What changes when it is heated, and can it be changed back?

Answer: An egg.

Why it works: A raw egg runs out of the shell, and cooking makes it firm.

I grow underground, I get mashed, fried and baked, and I have eyes that cannot see. What am I?

Then ask: What other things have eyes that cannot see?

Answer: A potato.

Why it works: The small spots on a potato are called eyes, and new sprouts grow out of them.

I am made from milk, I may be full of holes, and mice get blamed for me. What am I?

Then ask: Which clue comes from cartoons and not from real life?

Answer: Cheese.

Why it works: Cheese is made from milk, some kinds have holes, and in cartoons mice love it.

I start as seeds in a field, get ground to dust, and rise in the oven. What am I?

Then ask: What steps did the riddle skip between the field and the oven?

Answer: Bread.

Why it works: Bread starts as wheat, the grain is ground into flour, and the dough rises when it bakes.

I am sweet and frozen, and on a hot day I race you to see who finishes me first. What am I?

Then ask: Who is the race against?

Answer: Ice cream.

Why it works: Ice cream melts on a hot day, so you have to eat it before it turns into a puddle.

I am long and thin, I arrive in a tangle, and you wind me around a fork. What am I?

Then ask: Which word did the most work in that riddle?

Answer: Spaghetti.

Why it works: Spaghetti is long and thin, and you twirl it around a fork to eat it.

I am an orange vegetable, and cartoon rabbits love me. What am I?

Then ask: What do real rabbits eat most?

Answer: A carrot.

Why it works: Carrots are orange, and rabbits in cartoons are always munching them.

My name says nut, but I am really a bean that grows underground. What am I?

Then ask: What other foods have names that fool you?

Answer: A peanut.

Why it works: Peanuts grow under the soil and belong to the bean family, even though they are called nuts.

I am red, I grow on a vine, and people argue about whether I am a fruit or a vegetable. What am I?

Then ask: Which side would you take, and why?

Answer: A tomato.

Why it works: A tomato has seeds inside, so scientists call it a fruit, but cooks use it like a vegetable.

You crack my shell, but I am not an egg. Squirrels bury me for later. What am I?

Then ask: What happens to the ones a squirrel forgets?

Answer: A nut.

Why it works: Nuts have hard shells you crack open, and squirrels bury them to eat in winter.

I am sour and yellow, and I make the best drink at a summer stand. What am I?

Then ask: How do you make something sour taste good?

Answer: A lemon.

Why it works: Lemons are sour and yellow, and lemonade is made from them.

I am a fruit that wears my seeds on the outside. What am I?

Then ask: Where are the seeds in other fruits you know?

Answer: A strawberry.

Why it works: The tiny dots on the outside of a strawberry are its seeds.

Why are teddy bears never hungry?

Then ask: Can you make up a joke about another toy?

Answer: Because they are always stuffed.

Why it works: Stuffed means too full to eat more, and teddy bears are full of stuffing.

Why did the math book look so sad?

Then ask: What would a happy math book have?

Answer: It had too many problems.

Why it works: Math books are full of problems to solve, and a problem also means a worry.

What do you call a fish with no eyes?

Then ask: What happens if you take the i out of other words?

Answer: A fsh.

Why it works: Take the letter i, which sounds like eye, out of fish and you get fsh.

Why did the cookie go to the doctor?

Then ask: What would a sick cracker say?

Answer: It was feeling crummy.

Why it works: Crummy means feeling bad, and cookies break into crumbs.

What has four wheels and flies?

Then ask: Did you picture wings first? What changed your mind?

Answer: A garbage truck.

Why it works: The flies are the buzzing bugs around the garbage, not the truck flying.

Why was 6 afraid of 7?

Then ask: Can you make up a number joke of your own?

Answer: Because 7 8 9.

Why it works: Eight sounds like ate, so it sounds like seven ate nine.

What did one wall say to the other wall?

Then ask: What else could the walls say to each other?

Answer: "I'll meet you at the corner."

Why it works: Two walls touch at a corner, the way friends meet on a street corner.

What kind of tree fits in your hand?

Then ask: What other body part is also the name of something else?

Answer: A palm tree.

Why it works: A palm is a kind of tree, and it is also the inside of your hand.

Why did the scarecrow win a prize?

Then ask: Who do you know who is outstanding at something?

Answer: He was outstanding in his field.

Why it works: Outstanding means really good, and a scarecrow is out standing in a farm field.

What do you call a sleeping dinosaur?

Then ask: Can you make up a name for a dinosaur that sneezes?

Answer: A dino-snore.

Why it works: Snore sounds like the end of the word dinosaur.

What room can nobody walk into?

Then ask: Can you think of a word that hides another word inside it?

Answer: A mushroom.

Why it works: Mushroom ends in room, but it's something you eat, not a room.

Why don't skeletons fight each other?

Then ask: What does it mean to have guts?

Answer: They don't have the guts.

Why it works: Having guts means being brave, and skeletons have no insides at all.

What do you call cheese that isn't yours?

Then ask: Say the answer slowly. Which words do you hear?

Answer: Nacho cheese.

Why it works: Nacho sounds like not your.

Why did the kid eat his homework?

Then ask: What other sayings would be funny if someone took them word for word?

Answer: The teacher said it was a piece of cake.

Why it works: A piece of cake means something easy, and he thought she meant real cake.

What has ears and can't hear a thing?

Then ask: What else has ears that don't hear?

Answer: Corn.

Why it works: A whole cob of corn is called an ear.

Why did the bicycle fall over?

Then ask: Can you think of another word that sounds like a different word?

Answer: It was two-tired.

Why it works: Two-tired sounds like too tired, and a bike has two tires.

What do you call a pig that knows karate?

Then ask: What would you call a cow that knows karate?

Answer: A pork chop.

Why it works: A chop is a karate hit, and a pork chop is a piece of meat from a pig.

Where do cows go on Saturday night?

Then ask: Where would cats go on a Saturday night?

Answer: To the moo-vies.

Why it works: Moo is the sound a cow makes, and it sounds like the start of movies.

What kind of key opens a banana?

Then ask: What other animals have a word hiding in their name?

Answer: A monkey.

Why it works: Monkeys open bananas, and the word monkey ends in key.

We come out at night without being called and are gone by morning without being chased. What are we?

Then ask: Are they really gone in the morning? Where are they?

Answer: Stars.

Why it works: Stars are in the sky during the day too, but sunlight is too bright for us to see them.

I have no legs, and I run downhill all the way to the sea. What am I?

Then ask: What other things run without legs?

Answer: A river.

Why it works: We say a river runs, and it flows downhill until it reaches the sea.

I am loud after a flash, and I always arrive late. What am I?

Then ask: What makes it late?

Answer: Thunder.

Why it works: Lightning makes thunder, and sound travels slower than light, so you hear it after you see the flash.

I have a trunk and rings, and I add one ring every year. What am I?

Then ask: Where are the rings, and what could they tell you?

Answer: A tree.

Why it works: A tree trunk grows a new ring each year, so counting the rings tells you how old the tree is.

You can hear me and feel me and never see me. I carry kites and steal hats. What am I?

Then ask: How do you know it is there if you cannot see it?

Answer: The wind.

Why it works: You can hear and feel the wind but not see it, and it lifts kites and blows hats off.

I am water you can walk on. What am I?

Then ask: What had to happen to the water first?

Answer: Ice.

Why it works: When the water on a pond freezes thick enough, you can walk on it.

I show up after rain when the sun is behind you, and nobody has ever reached my end. What am I?

Then ask: What happens to it when you walk toward it?

Answer: A rainbow.

Why it works: A rainbow appears when sunlight shines through raindrops, and it moves as you move, so you can never reach the end.

I am a mountain that sometimes smokes, with fire far below me. What am I?

Then ask: Which clue separates it from an ordinary mountain?

Answer: A volcano.

Why it works: A volcano is a mountain with hot melted rock deep below it, and sometimes it puffs out smoke.

I am rooted in the ground, and I still turn my face to follow the sun. What am I?

Then ask: What does the plant get from turning?

Answer: A sunflower.

Why it works: A young sunflower turns its head to follow the sun across the sky.

I am a cloud that came down to walk on the ground. What am I?

Then ask: What do fog and a cloud have in common?

Answer: Fog.

Why it works: Fog is a cloud that forms down low, right by the ground.

I am the line where the sky meets the land. Walk toward me and I move away. What am I?

Then ask: Is the horizon a real place? What is it, then?

Answer: The horizon.

Why it works: The horizon is where the sky seems to touch the land, and it moves back as you walk toward it.

I am white and soft in the sky, and I turn gray before a storm. What am I?

Then ask: What shapes have you seen in the clouds?

Answer: A cloud.

Why it works: Clouds are made of tiny drops of water, and they look gray when they are thick with water.

I flash across the sky in a storm, and I am hotter than the surface of the sun. What am I?

Then ask: Why do people count after a flash until the thunder?

Answer: Lightning.

Why it works: Lightning is a giant spark of electricity, and it is hotter than the surface of the sun.

I fall from trees every autumn, and I crunch when you step on me. What am I?

Then ask: Why do you think trees drop their leaves?

Answer: A leaf.

Why it works: Many trees drop their leaves in fall, and dry leaves crunch underfoot.

I shine at night and change my shape every few days, but I never really change. What am I?

Then ask: What shape was the moon the last time you saw it?

Answer: The moon.

Why it works: The moon stays round, and we see a different amount of its sunlit side as the days go by.

Kids build me at the beach, and the sea always knocks me down. What am I?

Then ask: Where would you build one so it lasts longer?

Answer: A sandcastle.

Why it works: The waves wash over a sandcastle and flatten it.

I am a frozen flake, and they say no two of me are alike. What am I?

Then ask: How could anyone check that no two are alike?

Answer: A snowflake.

Why it works: Each snowflake grows its own pattern as it falls through the cold air.

What word gets shorter when you add two letters to it?

Then ask: Is this a fair trick? Why or why not?

Answer: Short.

Why it works: Add e and r to short and you get shorter.

What starts with E, ends with E, and has only one letter in it?

Then ask: Which meaning of letter did you think of first?

Answer: An envelope.

Why it works: Envelope starts and ends with e, and you put one letter, the kind you mail, inside it.

What five-letter word sounds the same when you take away four of its letters?

Then ask: Do you know what a queue is?

Answer: Queue.

Why it works: Queue is said just like the letter Q, so taking away u, e, u and e leaves a Q that sounds the same.

Which word is always spelled wrong in the dictionary?

Then ask: Read the question again. Where is the trick?

Answer: Wrong.

Why it works: The word wrong is spelled w-r-o-n-g, so it is always spelled "wrong".

What has thirteen hearts and no other body parts?

Then ask: What are the other three suits called?

Answer: A deck of cards.

Why it works: A deck has thirteen cards in the hearts suit.

You find me once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in a thousand years. What am I?

Then ask: Can you make one like it with a different letter?

Answer: The letter M.

Why it works: Minute has one m, moment has two, and thousand years has none.

What word reads the same when you turn it upside down?

Then ask: Write it in capitals and turn the paper. Does it work?

Answer: SWIMS.

Why it works: Written in capital letters, SWIMS turned upside down still reads SWIMS.

What is at the end of a rainbow?

Then ask: Did you think of gold first? Why?

Answer: The letter W.

Why it works: The word rainbow ends with the letter w.

How do you make the word one disappear?

Then ask: What other word can you change by adding one letter?

Answer: Put a G in front, and it's gone.

Why it works: G plus one spells gone.

Which letter of the alphabet is a drink?

Then ask: Which letter is a bug that buzzes?

Answer: T.

Why it works: The letter T sounds just like tea.

Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I?

Then ask: What other words turn into words when you spell them backward?

Answer: A ton.

Why it works: A ton is a very heavy weight, and ton spelled backward is not.

What has four letters, sometimes has nine, and never has five?

Then ask: Read it slowly. Which word gave the trick away?

Answer: "What" has four letters, "sometimes" has nine, and "never" has five.

Why it works: It sounds like a question about one thing, but each word is talking about itself: count the letters in what, sometimes and never.

What starts with P, ends with E, and has thousands of letters?

Then ask: What other place is full of something with two meanings?

Answer: A post office.

Why it works: Post office starts with p and ends with e, and it is full of letters, the kind you mail.

What word has three double letters in a row?

Then ask: Can you find a word with two double letters?

Answer: Bookkeeper.

Why it works: Book-keeper has oo, kk and ee one right after another.

What word contains all 26 letters?

Then ask: Did you try to think of a really long word first?

Answer: Alphabet.

Why it works: The alphabet contains every letter, so the word alphabet is the answer.

The more of me you give away, the more of me there is. What am I?

Then ask: Which answer fits better, and can you think of a third?

Answer: A smile, or an idea.

Why it works: When you give someone a smile or an idea, you still have it, and now they have one too.

You take me before you have me, and then you keep me in a frame. What am I?

Then ask: Which word in the riddle is playing a trick?

Answer: A photo.

Why it works: You take a photo with a camera before you have the picture, and then you put it in a frame.

I am over before you finish saying my name. What am I?

Then ask: How long is a moment?

Answer: A moment, or a second.

Why it works: A moment is so short that it is over before you finish saying the word.

Two people make me and nobody holds me. Break me and nothing falls. What am I?

Then ask: What does break when a promise is broken?

Answer: A promise.

Why it works: Two people make a promise, but it is not an object, so breaking it breaks trust instead of something you can drop.

Everyone has one, nobody can lose it, and it grows by one every year. What am I?

Then ask: What else do you have that only grows?

Answer: Your age.

Why it works: Your age goes up by one on every birthday, and nobody can take it away.

I belong to you, and I come back late when you shout across a canyon. What am I?

Then ask: What is the echo made of?

Answer: An echo.

Why it works: An echo is your own voice bouncing off the rock and coming back a moment later.

I am full of streets you can cross with one finger. What am I?

Then ask: What can a map not tell you about a street?

Answer: A map.

Why it works: A map shows streets, and your finger can cross one in a second.

I am a room with no door and no walls, and you leave me only by waking up. What am I?

Then ask: Which clue ruled out a real room?

Answer: A dream.

Why it works: A dream can feel like a place you are in, and the only way out is to wake up.

The one who plans me cannot enjoy me the same way, and the one who gets me did not ask. What am I?

Then ask: Who has more fun, the planner or the one surprised?

Answer: A surprise.

Why it works: The planner already knows the secret, and the person surprised did not ask for anything.

Spell me forward and I sit on the stove. Spell me backward and I am the highest point. What am I?

Then ask: Can you find another word that turns into a word when spelled backward?

Answer: A pot. Backward it spells top.

Why it works: Pot spelled backward is t-o-p, and the top is the highest point.

What has a bottom at the top?

Then ask: Did you picture a box or a jar first?

Answer: Your legs.

Why it works: Your bottom sits at the top of your legs.

If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you don't have me anymore. What am I?

Then ask: Is it ever right to share a secret? When?

Answer: A secret.

Why it works: Once you tell a secret, it isn't a secret anymore.

The more of these you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?

Then ask: Where can you see the footsteps you leave?

Answer: Footsteps.

Why it works: Every step you take leaves another footprint behind you.

I am so fragile that saying my name breaks me. What am I?

Then ask: How long can your family stay silent? Want to try?

Answer: Silence.

Why it works: Saying anything at all, even the word silence, breaks the quiet.

A rooster lays an egg on top of a pointy barn roof. Which way does the egg roll?

Then ask: What made you start thinking about the roof?

Answer: It doesn't. Roosters don't lay eggs.

Why it works: Only hens lay eggs. A rooster is a male chicken.

How many months have 28 days?

Then ask: Which month did you think of first, and why?

Answer: All twelve.

Why it works: Every month has at least 28 days. February is the only one that never has more than 29.

Your turn: make up a riddle about something you ate today.

Then ask: Which clue did you keep for last, and what made you keep it?

Answer: Whatever your kid picked.

Why it works: There is no single answer here. The fun is choosing clues that don't give the answer away too fast.